You can't beat one of a kind...

Earlier this week I had the thrill of being able to watch a one of kind piece of jewelry being made...for me...from scratch. Ron Ostlund, Jr. is a local talent that produces cool works of art like clocks, lamps and jewelry from scrap metal. Plus, he's completely self taught...

​Check out my pix below from the 3.5 hour session:

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the sheet of copper is cut and buffed into shape...​

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the collar starts to curl and take its shape once the hammering begins...​

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the final, shining product...​

There were tons of little tweaks done to the piece as it started to take shape and it was interesting to see how each small change made a huge impact. Watching a flat sheet of metal transform into a wearable work of art was fascinating.

HUGE thanks to Ron for allowing me to help create my own piece and for letting me sit in on the making of...​

Why don't you...

...create your own lip color? Using a clean knife, slice off a bit from a few different colors and mix up into a small, lidded pot (I save sample cosmetic jars and buy new empties when I run across them). Keep blending until you're satisfied with the shade. For a more sheer balm, add in a dab of petroleum jelly alternative like Waxelene (actual petroleum jelly is pretty disgusting). ​

Waxelene 2oz jar

​This could also be a really fun "girls night in" activity with children or friends (and wine). Don't forget to come up with a fantastic name to go with your custom color!

Fashionable Friends...

I'm a lucky girl. I know many, many stylish ladies who posses fantastic personal style. While I love observing the high fashion looks from the runways and red carpets, ultimately I strive to make NWS a celebration of accessible and everyday style.

Models and celebs have access to the latest and greatest in fashion and beauty and a cadre of talented people who help them put it all together. I believe true  style can be found by looking on the streets, at friends, family members and neighbors. I like to see ensembles put together by women with limited clothing budgets (like me) and who don't have access to a wide array of boutiques and stores.  

This season I'll be introducing my fashionable friends who embody unique personal style and who inspire me daily. Stay tuned!

Why Don't You...?

I am a longtime admirer of Diana Vreeland. Though not a "classic beauty", she had fantastic style and a great sense of humor,​ which is way more valuable in my eyes than a pretty face or a perfect body (though I'd take all of the above, please).

Vreeland's Harper's Bazaar column, Why Don't You? , was a collection of fun tips and suggestions for her stylish readers. While her ideas were not always realistic they were , and remain, most definitely creative, humorous and inspiring in their oh so high end way.

I adore reading her tips (some faves below) so I'm going to try my hand at a few of my own. Keep your eyes peeled for my Why Don't You?  ​post every Wednesday...

Just a few of D.V.'s classic suggestions:

...wear violet velvet mittens with everything?

...bring back from Central Europe a huge white baroque porcelain stove to stand in your front hall?

...have an elk-hide trunk for the back of your car? Hermès of Paris will make this.

...have your cigarettes stamped with a personal insignia?

...paint a map of the world on all four walls of your boys’ nursery so they won’t grow up with a provincial point of view?

…wear, like the Duchess of Kent, three enormous diamond stars arranged in your hair in front?

​If you haven't read D.V., her "facticious" autobiography, you must do so immediately. It remains one of my all time favorite books as it captures the essence of her wit, personality and imagination. Buy it on Amazon RIGHT NOW! You'll also want to pick up Diana Vreeland by Eleanor Dwight to learn more about Vreeland and to see her flamboyant life in pictures.